GWCT Woodcock Watch Blog
This table shows current location data for each of our Woodcock Watch birds:
Follow the progress of the woodcock taking part in the GWCT's pioneering satellite tagging project.
Showing posts with label Olwen - Ol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olwen - Ol. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Garth, Pinks, Penning, Hugh, Smithy & Olwen leading way through Russia
With 11 of our woodcock now having made it to Russia, Garth continues to steam ahead. She's taken a more easterly route than the others, south of Moscow and has clocked up nearly 6,000km. The map below shows the locations of the other birds currently in Russia:
This table shows current location data for each of our Woodcock Watch birds:
Please help us continue our woodcock research
This table shows current location data for each of our Woodcock Watch birds:
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
A closer look at the veterans
Eight of the woodcock we are tracking this year were caught and tagged prior to 2015 – either in spring 2013 or spring 2014. This means we are currently following their outward migration for the second or third time.
Three of these birds are already at the breeding sites they visited last year. These are:
Irina – who has travelled from Ireland to the exact same site in Norway in spring 2014 and 2015.
Wensum – who was tagged in Norfolk in spring 2013. Wensum has wintered in Germany the past two winters and has returned to the same wood in Finland each year.
St. Brendan – who flew from Ireland to Latvia in 2014 and 2015.
Unsurprisingly these three, who have already finished their migrations, are those who travel the shortest distances.
Knepp and Olwen are both pretty close to the breeding sites they have used in previous years (Finland and Russia respectively) and appear to be heading in the right direction. Nastasia also appears to be plotting the correct course but still has 500 or so km left to travel before she reaches her Russian breeding grounds.
Remy has not transmitted data for some time so we are unsure of her exact whereabouts. Assuming she is a) still alive and b) returning to the same breeding site she ought to be en route to eastern Latvia. The last we heard she was in Belgium, but that was on the 22nd March.
The final bird is Monkey III. Monkey III should be heading towards Western Russia by now. Last year he/she had arrived on his/her breeding site by 30th April. This year, however, Monkey III has not yet left the UK and is still sending regular and accurate data from Hampshire. This seems very strange – we didn’t expect birds to ‘opt out’ of migration! Either Monkey III is leaving it very late to leave or there is something wrong with him/her.
Whilst Monkey III appears to be alive and moving around on a regular basis, there may be an issue that is preventing him/her from achieving the condition required to migrate – perhaps the result of a parasite, illness or old injury.
Please help us continue our woodcock research
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| Irena's journey |
Irina – who has travelled from Ireland to the exact same site in Norway in spring 2014 and 2015.
Wensum – who was tagged in Norfolk in spring 2013. Wensum has wintered in Germany the past two winters and has returned to the same wood in Finland each year.
St. Brendan – who flew from Ireland to Latvia in 2014 and 2015.
Unsurprisingly these three, who have already finished their migrations, are those who travel the shortest distances.
Knepp and Olwen are both pretty close to the breeding sites they have used in previous years (Finland and Russia respectively) and appear to be heading in the right direction. Nastasia also appears to be plotting the correct course but still has 500 or so km left to travel before she reaches her Russian breeding grounds.
Remy has not transmitted data for some time so we are unsure of her exact whereabouts. Assuming she is a) still alive and b) returning to the same breeding site she ought to be en route to eastern Latvia. The last we heard she was in Belgium, but that was on the 22nd March.
The final bird is Monkey III. Monkey III should be heading towards Western Russia by now. Last year he/she had arrived on his/her breeding site by 30th April. This year, however, Monkey III has not yet left the UK and is still sending regular and accurate data from Hampshire. This seems very strange – we didn’t expect birds to ‘opt out’ of migration! Either Monkey III is leaving it very late to leave or there is something wrong with him/her.
Whilst Monkey III appears to be alive and moving around on a regular basis, there may be an issue that is preventing him/her from achieving the condition required to migrate – perhaps the result of a parasite, illness or old injury.
Please help us continue our woodcock research
Wednesday, 8 April 2015
Olwen's route to Russia
Here on the Woodcock Watch blog we’re always talking about ‘site fidelity’ and ‘faithfulness’ and how woodcock appear to be incredibly loyal to particular wintering and breeding sites. But as with anything, there are always one or two individuals that choose to go against the grain.
Olwen was tagged in Wales in March 2013 and proceeded to migrate to Russia that spring. Olwen returned to spend the winter of 2013/14 in the UK, but instead of heading back to Wales as expected, (s)he spent the whole winter in Yorkshire. In the winter of 2014/15, Olwen switched again and chose a site in Lincolnshire. This is at complete odds to the majority of our other woodcock, who usually return to spend winter at the same site year-on-year.
Olwen has recently left the UK and is heading out on a third spring migration. Whilst Olwen may not be particularly faithful to a single wintering site, (s)he does appear to return to the same breeding site each year (a remote piece of wilderness in northwest Russia). What is most interesting though, is the fact that Olwen also appears to use roughly the same route each time.
The map below shows data from three springs – 2013, 2014 and 2015. Each year, Olwen appears to head from the UK, via the Netherlands and Germany, up through Denmark into Sweden. From Sweden, Olwen passes into Latvia or Estonia by crossing over the Baltic. Here, there is usually a pause in progress, before moving on into Russia.
We have other Russian birds that take a different route. Instead of moving up through Denmark and Sweden, they will make the whole migration overland via Poland, Lithuania and/or Belarus. If you look at www.woodcockwatch.com now, you can see this in action with our new 2015 birds.
Whilst Ruan and Izzy appear to be following the likes of Olwen and Wensum along the northern ‘Baltic’ route, Monkey IV and Penning are following the southern ‘Continental’ route.
It’s not clear why these birds choose different courses, but as Olwen’s example demonstrates, each individual seems to use roughly the same route each year.
We are lacking large amounts of data on Olwen’s time in Scandinavia; we only have a cluster of 4 points in Denmark in 2013, and 5 in Sweden in 2014. The reason that the data is so scant is probably because Olwen makes this part of the journey quickly with few stops.
From Latvia, however, we have more data. After making the long Baltic Sea crossing, Olwen seems to spend a bit of time recuperating here. In 2014, particularly, Olwen used a site in Latvia’s Talsi muncipality, the area that makes up the Western coast of the gulf of Riga.
Olwen stayed here between 13th March and 9th April. The data we have received recently, shows Olwen was in the exact same place between 23rd and 28th March 2015 (see inset). Within the last week Olwen has pushed further, and is now on the Latvian/Estonian border on the eastern side of the Gulf of Riga.
Below is a photograph of woodland in the Talsi area of Latvia, where Olwen has made an annual pitstop in both 2014 and 2015:
Please help us continue our woodcock research
Olwen was tagged in Wales in March 2013 and proceeded to migrate to Russia that spring. Olwen returned to spend the winter of 2013/14 in the UK, but instead of heading back to Wales as expected, (s)he spent the whole winter in Yorkshire. In the winter of 2014/15, Olwen switched again and chose a site in Lincolnshire. This is at complete odds to the majority of our other woodcock, who usually return to spend winter at the same site year-on-year.
Olwen has recently left the UK and is heading out on a third spring migration. Whilst Olwen may not be particularly faithful to a single wintering site, (s)he does appear to return to the same breeding site each year (a remote piece of wilderness in northwest Russia). What is most interesting though, is the fact that Olwen also appears to use roughly the same route each time.
The map below shows data from three springs – 2013, 2014 and 2015. Each year, Olwen appears to head from the UK, via the Netherlands and Germany, up through Denmark into Sweden. From Sweden, Olwen passes into Latvia or Estonia by crossing over the Baltic. Here, there is usually a pause in progress, before moving on into Russia.
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| Click map to enlarge |
Whilst Ruan and Izzy appear to be following the likes of Olwen and Wensum along the northern ‘Baltic’ route, Monkey IV and Penning are following the southern ‘Continental’ route.
It’s not clear why these birds choose different courses, but as Olwen’s example demonstrates, each individual seems to use roughly the same route each year.
We are lacking large amounts of data on Olwen’s time in Scandinavia; we only have a cluster of 4 points in Denmark in 2013, and 5 in Sweden in 2014. The reason that the data is so scant is probably because Olwen makes this part of the journey quickly with few stops.
From Latvia, however, we have more data. After making the long Baltic Sea crossing, Olwen seems to spend a bit of time recuperating here. In 2014, particularly, Olwen used a site in Latvia’s Talsi muncipality, the area that makes up the Western coast of the gulf of Riga.
Olwen stayed here between 13th March and 9th April. The data we have received recently, shows Olwen was in the exact same place between 23rd and 28th March 2015 (see inset). Within the last week Olwen has pushed further, and is now on the Latvian/Estonian border on the eastern side of the Gulf of Riga.
Below is a photograph of woodland in the Talsi area of Latvia, where Olwen has made an annual pitstop in both 2014 and 2015:
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| Photo by Anbien from Panoramio |
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Monkey IV first to reach Russia & other location updates
The Easter weekend saw a flurry of Woodcock Watch activity as a number of our birds continued and in some cases started their journey east.
Doc - now in Germany after leaving Ireland (1358km).
Izzy - has travelled north east from Dorset to Sweden (1317km).
Monkey IV - first to reach Russia after leaving Norfolk (2022km)
Olwen - third migration, now in Latvia after flying from Wales (1678km)
Penning - left Wiltshire and is currently in central Poland (1795km)
Pinks - currently in western Germany after leaving Bath (1259km)
Ruan - in Sweden after flying from Cornwall (1559km)
Please help us continue our woodcock research
Doc - now in Germany after leaving Ireland (1358km).
Izzy - has travelled north east from Dorset to Sweden (1317km).
Monkey IV - first to reach Russia after leaving Norfolk (2022km)
Olwen - third migration, now in Latvia after flying from Wales (1678km)
Penning - left Wiltshire and is currently in central Poland (1795km)
Pinks - currently in western Germany after leaving Bath (1259km)
Ruan - in Sweden after flying from Cornwall (1559km)
Please help us continue our woodcock research
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Four woodcock have now passed the 4,000km mark
Four of the woodcock taking part in our Woodcock Watch project have now covered over 4,000km on their journeys.
Click here to view the latest location data for all woodcock.
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Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Clear evidence of breeding site fidelity in woodcock
I know we’re constantly talking about site fidelity – but it’s interesting especially when demonstrated so clearly as it is in the maps below (click to enlarge them). It’s obvious that these birds repeatedly return to the same areas to breed – which has conservation implications for the areas where the largest concentrations reside.
As for the question as to why Crugith has not been so faithful– we think she must’ve picked up some sort of injury, disease or parasite that has prevented her from reaching the desired level of fitness. There are no breeding birds in Cornwall so it is impossible that she is breeding there – she’s just sitting out the summer because she could not attain the condition required to return to Siberia. She is still alive as her movement appears to be normal, but there must be some underlying health issue.
It's worth noting that of the birds featured in the maps below, Remy, Amy, Rebecca, Lanyon, Wensum are all females. St. Brendan and Olwen are both of an unknown sex so could also be females. So the site fidelity we are seeing is definitely true of females but we don’t have any data for males – at least not in 2014. Last year, however, we had Monkey - a male who travelled to exactly the same site in 2013 as he did in 2012.
As for the question as to why Crugith has not been so faithful– we think she must’ve picked up some sort of injury, disease or parasite that has prevented her from reaching the desired level of fitness. There are no breeding birds in Cornwall so it is impossible that she is breeding there – she’s just sitting out the summer because she could not attain the condition required to return to Siberia. She is still alive as her movement appears to be normal, but there must be some underlying health issue.
It's worth noting that of the birds featured in the maps below, Remy, Amy, Rebecca, Lanyon, Wensum are all females. St. Brendan and Olwen are both of an unknown sex so could also be females. So the site fidelity we are seeing is definitely true of females but we don’t have any data for males – at least not in 2014. Last year, however, we had Monkey - a male who travelled to exactly the same site in 2013 as he did in 2012.
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| Amy |
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| St. Brendan |
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| Crugith |
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| Lanyon |
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| Olwen |
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| Remy |
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| Wensum |
Friday, 9 May 2014
New chart shows latest Woodcock Watch data at a glance
Our woodcock are continuing their journeys across Europe and we've just received location updates for each of them.The new chart below shows details for each bird and updates automatically on our website and blog as soon as we enter new data:
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Busy Easter period sees flurry of woodcock activity
Our woodcock were very active over the Easter period with many of them on the move across Europe.
Location updates
Amy - in western Russia after leaving Ireland and stopping over in Holland, Poland and Belarus.
BFC - has made it to Russia after leaving Wales and stopping in Lithuania and Latvia.
Jack - following stops in Denmark and Estonia, Jack has arrived in Russia after leaving Scotland.
James - left Wiltshire and has travelled north east through Poland and Latvia to reach Russia.
Knepp - currently in Finland after leaving Sussex and arriving via Germany and Estonia.
Lanyon - has flown into Russia from Cornwall after stopping off in Belarus.
Olwen - currently in north west Russia after stopping in Denmark and Latvia.
Rebecca - flew south east from Wales to Slovakia and then north east into Russia.
Remy - left Scotland for Denmark and now currently in Latvia.
Rocky - has flown from Cornwall to Russia via Germany and Poland.
Smithy - left Bristol for Poland before flying north east to Russia via Belarus.
St Brendan - flew east from Ireland to Poland and has since moved north east to Latvia.
Wensum - having never returned to the UK, Wensum has revisited Finland from Germany.
Monday, 7 April 2014
New location updates for 13 woodcock
With our birds now on the move across Europe we've received a large number of new location updates over the weekend.
Amy - has moved east from Ireland through Germany and Poland and is now in Belarus.
BFC - travelled north-easterly from Wales to Lithuania and is currently in Latvia.
Jack - on the move east from Islay and now in Northumberland.
Knepp - has travelled nearly 2,500km to Finland, passing through Germany, Lithuania and Estonia.
Lanyon - currently in Belarus having left Cornwall at the end of February.
Monkey III - flew north from Hampshire to Yorkshire and has since flown east to northern Poland.
Olwen - currently in Latvia having stopped over in Denmark.
Rebecca - initially travelled south-easterly to Slovakia and then north-easterly to Russia.
Remy - now in Latvia after leaving Scotland and stopping over in Sweden and Lithuania.
Rocky - newly tagged bird now in Poland after leaving Cornwall and stopping in Germany.
Smithy - tagged this March in Somerset, Smithy has made it to central Poland.
St. Brendan - left Ireland at the end of March and is now in Latvia after stopping in Poland.
Wensum - having never made it back to the UK, Wensum has left Germany and returned to Finland.
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
11 exciting new location updates
We've received a large number of location updates including some exciting news from our newly tagged woodcock.
Amy - currently in Lithuania after leaving Ireland and stopping in Holland and Poland.
BFC - tagged in Wales this March, BFC is sponsored by the British Falconers Club and is currently in Latvia.
Knepp - another new bird, Knepp is sponsored by Knepp Castle Estate and has already made it to Russia having stopped in Germany and Poland.
Lanyon - currently in Belarus after leaving Cornwall in the middle of March.
Monkey III - newly tagged in Hampshire, Monkey III has headed north and is currently in Lincolnshire, perhaps on the way to Scandinavia.
Olwen - having left Yorkshire Olwen is currently in Latvia after stopping in Denmark.
Rebecca - left Wales in the middle of March and has made it to Russia, stopping in Slovakia en route.
Remy - left Scotland and flew east to Denmark and is currently in Latvia.
Rocky - newly tagged in Cornwall, Rocky flew east to Germany and is currently in Poland.
St. Brendan - having left Ireland in early March, St. Brendan flew to Poland and is now in Latvia.
Wensum - the bird that never returned, Wensum wintered in Germany and is currently in Denmark, possibly heading back to Finland.
Amy - currently in Lithuania after leaving Ireland and stopping in Holland and Poland.
BFC - tagged in Wales this March, BFC is sponsored by the British Falconers Club and is currently in Latvia.
Knepp - another new bird, Knepp is sponsored by Knepp Castle Estate and has already made it to Russia having stopped in Germany and Poland.
Lanyon - currently in Belarus after leaving Cornwall in the middle of March.
Monkey III - newly tagged in Hampshire, Monkey III has headed north and is currently in Lincolnshire, perhaps on the way to Scandinavia.
Olwen - having left Yorkshire Olwen is currently in Latvia after stopping in Denmark.
Rebecca - left Wales in the middle of March and has made it to Russia, stopping in Slovakia en route.
Remy - left Scotland and flew east to Denmark and is currently in Latvia.
Rocky - newly tagged in Cornwall, Rocky flew east to Germany and is currently in Poland.
St. Brendan - having left Ireland in early March, St. Brendan flew to Poland and is now in Latvia.
Wensum - the bird that never returned, Wensum wintered in Germany and is currently in Denmark, possibly heading back to Finland.
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Sunny weather leads to glut of new location data
We've received a rush of new location data including information from birds who we haven't heard from in a while. The sunnier weather has obviously recharged the satellite tags so we can gladly share the following location updates:
Rebecca
Tagged in 2012, Rebecca is in Wales for a 3rd Winter having travelled to western Russia.
St. Brendan
Last heard from in October, St. Brendan has sent data from his winter site in Cork, Ireland having returned from Latvia.
Olwen
Having left East Yorkshire on the 3rd March, Olwen was in Denmark by the 5th. Now she's on the Sorve Peninsula in Estonia!
Crugith
More data has been received from Crugith's location close to her catching site in Cornwall after her return from Siberia.
Rebecca
Tagged in 2012, Rebecca is in Wales for a 3rd Winter having travelled to western Russia.
St. Brendan
Last heard from in October, St. Brendan has sent data from his winter site in Cork, Ireland having returned from Latvia.
Olwen
Having left East Yorkshire on the 3rd March, Olwen was in Denmark by the 5th. Now she's on the Sorve Peninsula in Estonia!
Crugith
More data has been received from Crugith's location close to her catching site in Cornwall after her return from Siberia.
Monday, 10 March 2014
Location Update: Crugith returns and Olwen back off to Russia already?
We're pleased to confirm that Crugith has returned safely to Cornwall from Siberia. She may have been back some time with her reappearance due to her tag recharging, as we speculated back in February.
We've received interesting new data from Olwen, one of our birds tagged in Wales. Having returned from Russia to winter in Yorkshire it seems Olwen has already left the UK and is currently in Glesborg, Denmark.
Track Olwen's journey in more details here >
We've received interesting new data from Olwen, one of our birds tagged in Wales. Having returned from Russia to winter in Yorkshire it seems Olwen has already left the UK and is currently in Glesborg, Denmark.
Track Olwen's journey in more details here >
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Olwen displays unusual behaviour
It seems very unlikely that Olwen will make the move to Wales as we were expecting. This unusual behaviour does not conform to what we have seen in other birds, most of which show a high degree of fidelity to their usual wintering sites.
Maybe cold weather in the North-east could push Olwen across to Wales – though this remains to be seen. A detailed update on Olwen will be posted here shortly.
Monday, 6 January 2014
First Data of 2014 - Olwen Update
Olwen has provided our first location update of 2014 and is currently in East Yorkshire. (S)he (tough one to sex!) left Wales in March and has travelled nearly 6,000km to western Russia and back.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Is Olwen our first woodcock back in Britain?
New data received this morning show one of our Welsh birds, Olwen, is back in the UK. This new location comes from the East Riding of Yorkshire and is the first provided by Olwen’s tag since early September. As Olwen was caught in Wales last winter, we would expect to see him/her returning to a similar location this year. It seems likely that this is the first stop-off on his/her way across the UK back to mid-Wales.
It is the first time this winter that one of our birds has sent data from within the UK - but it may not necessarily mean that Olwen is the first bird back. Other woodcock, such as Lanyon and Crugith, were making good progress across Europe but we have not received recent data from these birds. It may be that these two, or others, have slipped into the UK already – but have passed ‘beneath our radar’. If this is the case we can only hope that their tags send us data soon, letting us know where they are now.
It is the first time this winter that one of our birds has sent data from within the UK - but it may not necessarily mean that Olwen is the first bird back. Other woodcock, such as Lanyon and Crugith, were making good progress across Europe but we have not received recent data from these birds. It may be that these two, or others, have slipped into the UK already – but have passed ‘beneath our radar’. If this is the case we can only hope that their tags send us data soon, letting us know where they are now.
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